After not sleeping for basically 3 days, we brought Ethan home from the hospital. It is amazing how your body kicks into mommy mode, I would have never thought I could stay awake for 3 days. My mother-in-law was able to stay with us for a few days after Ethan’s birth which was very helpful. She helped us with Ethan, keeping the house picked up and made us dinner etc.

We took Ethan to his first Dr.’s appt. a few days after his birth. He weighed 6lbs 8oz. Other than a little bit of jaundice, the Dr. said he looked great and to bring him back for a 2 week checkup. We did a couple of blood tests too in the meantime for his jaundice which improved and now seems to be completely under control.

I am blessed with the most amazing friends. They coordinated meals for my husband and I when my mother-in-law left. Without them we probably wouldn’t have eaten for a few days 🙂 I can’t tell you how nice it was to have dinner every day.

My mom and stepdad came back to town again during his second week. It was nice for them to spend time with him and again so much help. They really spoiled us with groceries, cooking, cleaning etc. My stepdad also bought me a new rocking chair! It’s awesome, we bought it from babies-r-us (it’s by Shermag).

The first couple of weeks Ethan just pretty much ate, slept and pooped 🙂 He was very happy and content most of the time. On his 2 week birthday he became very agitated and cried nonstop. I took him to the Dr. for his 2 week appt. and he weighed 6lbs 10oz. The Dr. told me that he should have been back up to his birth weight (7lbs 20z). She asked me if I was opposed to formula and I said yes. She told me she would give me till Monday to try and plump him up. All day Saturday Ethan cried and needed to feed every 30 minutes. It was extremely frustrating for us both.

From the beginning I was never able to get him to latch on. I had to use a nipple shield in order for him to nurse. I don’t know if that was part of the problem, but he just didn’t seem to be getting enough food. I figured out how to use the breast pump so I could see how much milk I was producing. I seemed to be producing quite a bit, but it just still wasn’t enough for him. Sunday morning after a night of basically no sleep (he cried all night and needed to nurse every 30 minutes) I couldn’t have been more drained and frustrated.

I talked to my mother-in-law that morning (Valentines Day) and she convinced me to try feeding him some formula. I decided to do that and things started to get better.